The 10 Best Pokémon Starters of All Time

What are the best Pokémon starters of all time?

There is nothing worse than starting a new Pokémon game only to realize your starter Pokémon absolutely sucks.

Not only does this make catching better Pokémon more difficult, but it also forces you to waste resources on a Pokémon you don’t want.

Fortunately, we’ve made a list of the best starter Pokémon, so you will never have to waste your time on a Chikorita again, no matter how adorable it is.

The Best Pokémon Starters of All Time

We’ve listened to player feedback from across the web and taken a hard look at the stats of all the known starter Pokémon to compile this comprehensive list.

This way, you can be sure to pick a great starter the next time you play Pokémon.

Here’s our list of the 10 best Pokémon Starters of all time:

10. Oshawott

Found as a starter in Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, White 2, and Legends” Arceus, Oshawott is a water-type with a weakness to grass and electric attacks.

Oshawatt evolves into Dewott at level 17 with a rare candy, boosting its attack to 75 and its special attack to 83.

Plus, once it evolves into Samurott, it is capable of taking down some pretty strong foes with an attack of 100 and a special attack of 108.

While it does struggle with speed, its wide-ranging move set more than makes up for this drawback.

9. Treecko

Treeko is available as a starter in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, and Emerald.

While its attack stat starts off at 40, it does have a speed stat of 70, which makes it one of the fastest starter Pokémon.

However, what makes it really worth investing in is that it evolves into Grovyle at level 16 and Sceptile at level 36.

Once in its final form, Sceptile has a fantastic speed stat of 120, plus a special attack of 105 and a general attack of 85.

Overall, Treeko has the ability to hit fast and hard if you’re willing to invest in leveling and evolutions.

8. Rowlet

Rowlet is one of the best bird Pokémon, and it can be found as a starter in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, and Legends: Arceus.

This grass/flying-type Pokémon starts off with some solid stats; a 55 in attack and defense and a 50 in special attack and special defense stats.

However, once it evolves into Dartrix at level 17 and Decidueye at level 36, it becomes quite a force to be reckoned with!

Not only does it look badass in its final form, but it gains 100 in special defense and special attack stats and 107 in the general attack stat.

This gives it the ability to focus on either move type while still having the defense needed to stand up to a few hard-hitting enemies.

7. Chimchar

Introduced in Generation IV, Chimchar is a fire-type starter for Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Shining Pearl, and Brilliant Diamond.

While it starts off well-rounded, at level 14, it evolves into Monferno and gets a speed boost up to 81 and a special attack and general attack boost up to 78.

Once it becomes Infernape at level 36, it becomes even stronger, with its speed topping out at 108 and its general and special attack stats coming in at 104.

Chimchar definitely grows up to be incredibly fast and powerful, making it one of the best Pokémon you can choose as a starter.

6. Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur is one of the best starters in Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen.

This grass/poison-type Pokémon starts off well-rounded, but when it evolves into Ivysaur at level 16, it gets even stronger.

During this evolution, its special attack stat and special defense stat get boosted to 80, making it decently strong.

When it evolves into Venusaur at level 32, its special stats jump even higher to 100, while its general attack is boosted to 82, and its speed stat is boosted to 80.

Part of the reason for Bulbasaur’s popularity is that it can easily take out the first couple of gym leaders in Red and Blue, making it a very solid starter.

5. Torchic

 Torchic can be found as a starter in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, and Emerald, and this fire type is both adorable and powerful.

Capable of holding its own against even the best dragon Pokémon, Torchic starts out with a high special attack stat and a decent general attack at 70 and 60, respectively.

However, these stats jump even further when it evolves into Combusken at level 16, and once it is fully evolved into Blaziken, not much can stand in its way.

As Blaziken, this Pokémon has a high general attack stat of 120 and a special attack stat of 110, which allows it to hit very hard with moves like Flare Blitz and Close Combat.

4. Squirtle

Squirtle is a water-type starter from some of the best Pokémon games of all time, including Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, FireRed, and LeafGreen.

As a classic Gen I Pokémon, Squirtle is a solid starter that excels in defense stats but has access to some solid moves, such as Water Gun and Water Pulse.

It evolves into Wartortle at level 16 and eventually into Blastoise at level 36, which boosts its special defense to 105 and its general defense to 100.

However, its attack is still very high as well, with a general attack stat of 83 and a special attack stat of 85, which makes it an all-around strong Pokémon.

3. Froakie

Froakie is a water-type Pokémon and one of the starters found in Pokémon X and Y.

While it may not seem like much at the start, it does have a speed advantage that makes it faster than many opponents it will come up against.

At level 16, Froakie evolves into Frogadier, which boosts its speed stat to 97 and its special attack to 83.

However, it is Froakies’ final evolution that really stands out, and at level 36, it evolves into Greninja, a Pokémon that was voted the world’s favorite in 2020.

Not only does Greninja look cool, but it has a ridiculous speed stat of 122, a special attack stat of 103, and a general attack of 95.

You can end up doing serious damage with this Pokémon if you choose it as your starter!

2. Charmander

Found as a starter in Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, FireRed, and LeafGreen, Charmander is a fire-type fan-favorite.

Special attack and speed are its strengths, and these get boosted to 80 at level 16 when it evolves into Charmeleon.

At level 36, it gets even stronger in its final evolution as Charizard, who has a solid speed stat of 100 and a special attack of 109.

Charizard’s speed and special attack stats are great for stab attacks like Air Slash and Inferno.

While Charmander hasn’t been seen as a starter Pokémon for a while, it still stands out as one of the best there ever was.

1. Mudkip

It may not be one of the best fish Pokémon, but this water type takes our top spot as the best Pokémon starter!

Available as a starter in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, and Emerald, Mudkip stands out as a heavy hitter from the get-go.

At level 16, Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp, which boosts its general attack to 85 and its health to 70.

It can then evolve into Swampert at level 36 and benefit from a health stat of 100 and a general attack stat of 110.

However, while it has a solid amount of health and the ability to hit like a truck, it also has a good balance of other stats that help make it a good all-rounder.

Furthermore, because it becomes a dual water/ground type, it has only one weakness to grass and is totally immune to electric types!

Summary

There are a lot of starter Pokémon throughout the games, but some are undeniably better than others!

The right starter Pokémon have the ability to go the distance with any trainer, and these 10 are easily the best.

If you’re getting ready to jump into a Pokémon game, make sure to keep this list handy, so you can choose a starter possible!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best Pokémon Starters of all time:

1. Mudkip
2. Charmander
3. Froakie
4. Squirtle
5. Torchic
6. Bulbasaur
7. Chimchar
8. Rowlet
9. Treecko
10. Oshawott

What’s your favorite Pokémon starter of all time? Leave a comment below.